Liquid-meter.



D. GAHILL.

LIQUID METER. APPLIVOATION'IILED BEPT.15, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

CQLUMBIA PLANcaRAPH CID-,WASHINOTON. D. c.

Patented Apr. 16, 1912.

D. CAHILL.

LIQUID METER. APPLICATION FILED SEPT.15, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

I: 1157211111 II,

\ VIII/III),

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPN 0-. WASHINGTON, D. c.

Patented Apr. 16, 1912.-

DANIEL CAHILL, 0F BELFAST, IRELAND.

LIQUID-METER.

Application filed September 15, 1910.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 16, 1912.

Serial No. 582,236.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, DANIEL OAHILL, a subjectof the King of Great Britain, formerly residing at 41 Avenue Klber,Paris, in the Republic of France, but now residing at 13 Cliftonvillestreet, Belfast, Ireland, have invented new and useful Improvements in.and Relating to Liquid-Meters, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention of improvements in and relating to liquid meters chieflyconcerns the type of meter comprising a cylinder the piston of which, atthe end of each stroke, strikes a rod or an abutment and thus operatesits own valve gear and a counter. The rods or abutments are usuallysupported or packed each by a diaphragm secured in an opening in therespective cylinder cover, and the outward movement of the rod orabutment causes outward distention of the diaphragm and thecorresponding movement of a linkage. The last named operates the valvegear and the dials or counter, and effects the collapse of the oppositediaphragm and brings about the inward movement of the rod or abutmentsupported by the latter. It has been proposed to employ what has beenterm-ed a shuttle bar in connection with the linkage aforesaid, whichshuttle bar was formed with spring-operated cams designed to give anaccelerated movement to the valve gear, which movement was partiallyindependent of the piston.

Now the principal objects of the present improvements are firstly, toproduce a greater degree of sensitiveness of the instrument in order torender it accurately responsive to very low pressure and to accomplishthis the invention provides a novel arrangement of diaphragm .andlinkages for operating the mechanisms referred to; secondly, topositively lock the valve gear during the greater portion of the strokeof the piston so as to prevent erratic movements of the valve gear, duemore especially to vibration and variations in the angle of the plane inwhich the instrument is carried say on a motor road vehicle or motorboat and for accomplishing this the invention provides an automatic lockto secure the valve during the greater port-ion of the stroke of thepiston as aforesaid; thirdly, to provide a pointer or indicator in orderto enable the actual moment of completion of each piston stroke to beaccurately observed this being accomplished by providing a pointer onthe oscillating valve, and, fourthly to provide a more convenientarrangement of the levers and linkages employed for transmitting themovements of the abutments to the counters and valve gear and otherdetail improve ments in the mechanism all of which will be hereinafterfully described with reference to the accompanying drawings in whichFigure 1 is a plan of a liquid meter constructed according to thepresent improve ments. Fig. 2 is an end view of the instrument as seenfrom the right hand side of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a front elevation with thedials removed. Fig. 3 is an elevation of the casing to a smaller scale.Fig. 4; is an inverted plan of the mechanism inclosed in the casingwhich is in section. Fig. 5 is a central vertical section of thecylinder and piston illustrating the improved arrangement of diaphragm,and Fig. 6 is an elevation of a detail.

In the drawings a designates the liquid tight casing, having windows Z)and Z) Fig. 3 through which the indications of the apparatus areobserved and a liquid supply connection 0 and outlet (Z, the connection0 being fitted if desired with a cock 6.

The meter comprises a cylinder 7 fitted with a float piston g and havingan oscillating slide valve h which alternately uncovers the inlet portsy' k. Whenever either one of these ports is uncovered by the slide itthe other one is covered and is placed in communication with thedelivery port Z by the valve 7L. The delivery port Z opens into adelivery passage m arranged to communicate with the outlet (Z in thecasing.

11., a are rods or abutments guided in respective ends of the cylinder fand having their outer ends packed or fitted water-tight by means ofdiaphragms 0. The inner ends of the rods are alternately struck by thedisk 9 in the piston. The diaphragms 0 are suitably secured betweenclamping rings q. These rods alternately drive the various mechanismsand are moved inward into the cylinder thereby in a manner hereinafterand exterior of the cylinder. If the diaphragms 0 are made of largediameter, 1n

.order to increase the amplitude of their movement, a proportionateincrease in the counter-pressure due to the diaphragms set up which istherefore obstructive of the free movement of the piston. By arrangingfor the diaphragms to have a maximum movement toward both sides of thecylinder cover, such diaphragms may be of small diameter andnevertheless have a movement of considerable amplitude. For instance byrecessing the cylinder cover as .at 1' and supporting the diaphragms inthe manner illustrated they may have a movement equal to the entirestroke of the piston so that in this way the resistance due to the slidevalve mechanism and of the counters hereinafter described may bedistributed over the whole of the piston stroke instead of over a smallportion only as heretofore. Therefore it is possible for the meter toaccurately measure a fluid at a considerably lower pressure thanheretofore, a pressure as low as that corresponding to a head of twoinches of petrol being sufiicient for the purpose.

At each end of the cylinder f there is mounted a rock shaft or spindle sand each shaft 8 carries a central arm 6 and end arms a, o respectively.The shaft 8 may be mounted between adjustable centers 10 and the freeends of the arms 25 extend across the centers of the diaphragms 0 sothat each of the arms 25 is struck in turn by the corresponding rod n.The arms to have each a lateral pin or projection 00 at the free end andthe pins 00 lie in the paths of similar projections or pins l upon theso called shuttle bar 2. The latter as shown, is composed of twoparallel strips or bars connected by cross pieces and is movable to andfro in guides afforded by the grooved rims of pairs of antifrictionrollers 1, 1. The shuttle bar 2 carries on each side a triangular cam 2and these cams are so arranged as to force apart the oppositely orreversely pivoted curved levers 3 until such moment as the ends of thelevers 3 ride over the summits of the.

cams 2, after which a spring 1 pulls the levers 3 toward each other andthe levers acting upon the cams accelerate the movement of the shuttlebar. The right hand one of the curved levers 3 in Fig. 1 carries a pawl5 adapted to drive a ratchet wheel 6 fixed on the shaft 7 of the worm 8,which latter drives a worm wheel 38 carrying a pawl 35 which drives aratchet wheel 36 and thereby the train of wheels for moving theindicating dials 9; 37 designates the detent or click for the ratchet 6.The shuttle bar carries projecting pins 10 for engaging with the freeend of the lever 11 for oscillating the slide valve h which is carriedupon the opposite end of the double armed lever 11, and one of theleverst (seen to the right hand of Fig. 1) carries a projection 13 forengaging a lever 14: (best seen in Fig. 6) which is provided with a pawl15 for turning a ratchet wheel 12 which effects the advance of the dials16 of a counter or totalizer adapted to show the total quantity passedthrough the meter.

To prevent unintentional movement of the valve it a lock is designed tobe operative for the greater portion of each stroke of the piston g, forinstance during nine-tenths of the stroke, after which it is releasedand the valve is free to be operated. The looking device convenientlyconsists of a bolt or projection 17 which is moved into and out of thepath of the lever 11 operating the valve h by a system of levers inconnect-ion with the valve linkage. In a convenient arrangement and asshown the lever 11 which has an oscillatory motion, is fitted with aprojection 18 and the bolt 17 is slidably mounted in suitable guides 19and is movable so as to protrude through the face plate 20 of thedistribution ports about perpendicularly thereto. sions of theprojection 18 and bolt 17 are such that in one extreme position of thevalve h the bolt 17 protrudes just in front of one side of theprojection 18 and in the other extreme position the bolt 17 protrudesjust in front of the other side of the projection 18. A spring 21 may bearranged to constantly press the bolt 17 into or toward its operatingposition and the bolt 17 is moved out of its operative position andagainst the action of the spring 21 by either one of two levers 22working on pivots 23 on the ends of the cylinder and adapted to beoperated by the corresponding arms 0. The spring 21 operates between apin 33 in the bolt 17 and the rear one of the guides 19 and a pin 34- inthe bolt abuts against the forward guide 19 to limit the upward movementof the bolt 17. The levers 22 may havetheir inner and overlapping endsforked as at 24 to engage a pin or projection 25 on the bolt 17 Theouter ends of these levers 22 may be formed with cam projections 26adapted to be engaged by projections or pins 27 on the arms v. It willbe seen from Fig. 4: that for the greater portion of a piston stroke thebolt 17 remains projected so that the valve and valve lever are lockedbetween the bolt 17, suitable stops 4O lying in the path of the arm 11and limiting the motion of the valve. As the piston nears the end of itsstroke and the free end of one of the arms o is moved away from thecylinder, the projection on such free ends strikes the corresponding cam26 and sets the two levers 22 in horizontal alinement, this movementcausing the forked end to move the bolt 17 out of locking position asshown in Fig. 4. During the period for which the bolt is removed fromlooking position the valve is The positions and dimen reversed by one ofthe pins 10 on the shuttle bar 2 striking the end of the lever 11 andthereafter movement of the valve will be resisted by that pin 10,movement of the shuttle bar 2 being elastically resisted by thespring-operated levers 8 bearing upon the cams 2. As soon as the pistonreverses its stroke and the arm 2) which was moved outward begins toapproach the cylinder, the bolt 17 is again permitted to be projected byits spring 21, into locking position and I the levers 22 are again movedto an inclined position.

A pointer 28 may be carried by the lever 11 at the end opposite the endon which the valve is fixed and may be so arranged as to lie closelyover the graduations of one of the dials 9 in such a position as to beseen through the window Z), see Fig. 3 therefore if each double strokeof the piston is equivalent to an indication uponthe dials of twoounces, a person on the car may, by observing the movement of thepointer 28 (which movement is much greater than the movement of thedial) ascertain the number of strokes of the piston and therefore thequantity of fuel consumed, over say a measured distance. Moreover therate of flow of the liquid may be ascertained with facility by simplyobserving how long a time is occupied by the piston in completing astroke these readings not being possible with accu racy, under allcircumstances, if the small graduations on the disk were to be reliedon.

The arms t are suitably fitted each with an adjustable screw stud 29 forbearing upon the outer end of the respective rod or abutment 1%. Thearms 1; fitted each with a pro jection or pin 27 are connected togetherby a link 30 which thus links the two rocking elements 8 t u 2)together. The link 30 is preferably in two parts connected together by atension spring 31 and the outer ends of the link 30 are connected torespective pins 27 by forming in each of such ends of the links anelongated or somewhat oval hole 32 which is passed over thecorrespondingly shaped head of a screw screwing into each respectivepin. By giving the screw a quarter turn, the somewhat oval head will lieacross the slot 82 and prevent accidental displacement of the link.

l/Vhat I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patentis 1. .A liquid meter comprising in combination, a cylinder, areciprocatory piston therein, a slide valve controlling the admission offluid into said cylinder, two abutment rods in the path of said piston,one rod in each end of said cylinder, lever systems on the ends of saidcylinder and comprising lever arms in the paths of said abutment rods, areciprocatory bar, side lever arms also comprised in said lever systems,projections on said bar lying in the path of said side lever arms,operative connections between said sllde valve and sald bar, dlaphragmsfor packing said abutment rods, said diaphragms being distensible towardboth sides of the planes in which their edges are fixed, indicators, andoperating means between said re ciprocatory bar and said indicators.

2. A liquid meter comprising in combination, a cylinder, a reciprocatorypiston therein, a slide valve controlling the admission of fluid intosaid cylinder, two abutment rods in the path of said piston, one rod ineach end of said cylinder, lever systems comprising arms in the path ofsaid abutment rods, a reciprocatory bar, side lever arms also comprisedin said lever systems, projections on said bar and lying in the path ofsaid side lever arms, operative connections between said slide valve andsaid bar, a locking member, means on said slide valve to normallyinterlock with said locking member, side arms opposite to the side leverarms of said lever systems, operative connections between said side armsand said locking member, indicators, and operative means between saidreciprocatory bar and said indicators.

8. A liquid meter comprising in combination a cylinder, a reciprocatorypiston there in, a slide valve controlling the admission of fluid intosaid cylinder, two abutment rods in the path of said piston, one rod ineach end of said cylinder, lever systems mounted on the ends of saidcylinder and comprising arms in the path of said abutment rods, lockingmeans normally operative upon said slide valve, a reciprocatory bar,other lever arms also comprised in said lever systems, projections onsaid bar lying in the path of said other lever arms, operativeconnections between said slide valve and said bar, a pointer on saidslide valve, and a scale in indicative relationshlp with said pointer.

l. A liquid meter comprising in combination a cylinder, a reciprocatorypiston therein, two abutment rods in the path of said piston, one rod ineach end of said cylinder, a slide valve adapted to control theadmission of fluid into said cylinder, an oscillatory shaft on each endof the cylinder, each of said shafts carrying three arms, theintermediate one of which lies in the path of a corresponding abutmentrod, a reciprocatory bolt, means on said valve to normally interlockwith said bolt, two armed rocking levers operatively connected with saidbolt and adapted to be operated by the arms on one end of said shafts, asliding bar, projections on the latter in the paths of the respectiveoutside arms opposite to those previously named, and driving connectionsbetween said bar and said valve.

5. A liquid meter comprising in combination, a cylinder, a reciprocatorypiston therein, two abutment rods in the path of said piston one rod ineach end of said cyl- 1nder, a valve adapted to control the ad- -missionof fluid into said cylinder, an oscillatory shaft on each end of thecylinder, each of said shafts carrying three arms the intermediate oneof which lies in the path of a corresponding abutment rod, a flexiblelink connected between corresponding end arms of the shafts, areciprocatory bolt, means on said valve adapted to normally interlockwith said bolt, two-armed rocking levers operatively connected with saidbolt and adapted to be operated by the arms on one end of said shafts, asliding bar, projections on said bar in the paths of the respectiveoutside arms opposite to those previously named, and driving connectionsbetween said bar and valve. 6. A liquid meter comprising in combination,a cylinder, a. reciprocatory piston therein, two abutment rods in thepath of said piston, one rod in each end of said cylinder, a slide valveadapted to control the admission of fluid into said cylinder, anoscillatory shaft on each end of the cylinder, each of said shaftscarrying three arms, the intermediate one of which lies in the path of acorresponding abutment rod, a reciprocatory bolt, means on said valveadapted to normally interlock with said bolt, two armed rocking leversoperatively connected at one pair of ends with said bolt, cams on theopposite pair of ends of said two armed levers, project-ions on the armson one end of said shafts, said cams adapted to lie in the paths ofrespective projections on the said lever arms, a sliding bar,projections on said bar in the paths of the respective outside armsopposite to those previously named, and driving connections between saidbar and valve.

7. A liquid meter comprising in combination a cylinder, at reci'n'ocatory piston therein, abutment rods in the path of said piston onerod in each end of said cylinder, an oscillatory shaft on each end ofthe cylinder, three arms fixed on each of said shafts with theintermediate arms in the paths of respective abutment rods, a slidablebar, guides therefor, projections thereon lying in the paths of theextremities of the outside arms on one end of said shafts, anoscillatory slide valve for controlling the distribution of fluid to theopposite sides of said piston, an operating arm on said valve extendingto the opposite side of the pivot of said operating arm, projections onsaid bar for engaging said operating arm in both directions of travel, areciprocatory bolt, means on said slide valve to normally interlock withsaid bolt, oscillatory two armed levers mounted on said cylinder withtheir convergent arms engaged with said bolt, cams on the opposite armsof said twoarmed levers, said cams lying in the paths of the outsidearms on the opposite end of said shafts, indicating dials, and ratchetand pawl gear between said bar and said dials.

8. In a liquid meter of the reciprocatory piston type comprisingindicators driven by mechanism operated by said piston, an oscillatoryslide valve for controlling the distribution of fluid to the oppositesides of said piston, spring operated locking means normally operativeto positively lock said slide valve, and lever mechanism connected withsaid locking means and operated by the piston at each end of its strokesfor releasing said locking means.

9. In a liquid meter of the reciprocatory piston type comprisingindicating dials, mechanism operated by said piston for driving saiddials, an oscillatory slide valve for controlling the distribution offluid to the opposite sides of said piston, a spring operated lockingmember, means on said slide valve to normally interlock with saidmember, lever mechanism connected with said locking member and operatedby the piston at each end of its stroke for releasing said lockingmember, an indicating pointer on said slide valve, and a granulated arcin indicative relationship with said pointer.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

DANIEL CAHILL.

\Vitnesses \V. Mommy, H. D. JAMESON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents.

